According to findings published in the November edition of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, "compared with heterosexual participants, youth reporting any minority sexual orientation reported having initiated alcohol use at younger ages . . . Younger age at alcohol use initiation among participants with minority sexual orientations significantly contributed to their elevated risk of binge drinking."
The article concludes: Our findings suggest that disparities in alcohol use among youth with a minority sexual orientation emerge in early adolescence and persist into young adulthood. Health care providers should be aware that adolescents with minority sexual orientation are at greater risk of alcohol use.
